Legal  Cartoon of an old man reading a book Ease
Bulletin No 3 – 13 August 2001

Miss Cartoon of a woman Spelt's

Hot Tip - Avoid Sexist Language

Sexist expressions have been part of our language for so long that often we use them without thinking. Most instances of sexist language denigrate women rather than men, either by excluding them or by depicting them as subordinate or inferior to men. The following are examples of sexist language:

1 Compounds using the word “man”

Try and replace words containing the word “man” with alternative words:

avoid

use instead

mansize

big, huge, large

mankind

people, humanity, the human race

manmade

artificial, manufactured

manpower

human resources, staffing, labour

chairman

chairperson, the chair, convenor

spokesman

spokesperson

workman

employee, worker

policeman

police officer

Cartoon of a bulb Use common sense. Some words cannot be adapted without an alternative that does not read well. The following sound ridiculous:

“access hole” or “utility hole” for “manhole”
“one-up personship” for “one-upmanship”
“personhandle” for “manhandle”

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